Best Places To Celebrate Father’s Day With Dad In Boston

Boston is a great place to spend Father’s Day. There are so many dad-friendly places and activities that, even on a Sunday, you can take dad for the day to show him just how much a son, daughter or an entire family appreciates him. From morning ’til night, here are just five great places to celebrate Father’s Day in Boston.

There is nothing like a big, hearty breakfast to start Father’s Day, and The Neighborhood in Somerville may just be the very best place to get breakfast (or brunch) in the entire Boston area. There is always a line to get in, but the staff provides free coffee and often little snacks to those waiting for a table. Breakfast includes a choice of either a bowl of fresh fruit or the world’s best cream of wheat. Seriously. This is not your grandmother’s lumpy cream of wheat – they use real cream, and butter, and a lot of both. By the way, if you live nearby, they deliver.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox are out of town (they play the Mariners) that weekend, but Fenway itself is still open all weekend. On Father’s Day eve, for example (Saturday, June 16) the Zac Brown Band puts on its Down the Rabbit Hole show at the park. There are also one-hour tours available, where guides take you around the bases, through the clubhouse and in and out of all of the cool places most people never get to see. There is, of course, a gift store with lots of Red Sox stuff, and if this is not enough, what better Father’s Day gift is there for a Red Sox dad than tickets to a home game later in the season?

While many Boston school children and tourists get to walk the decks of the oldest and most famous ship in the U.S. Navy, a lot of dads – especially local dads – have not been aboard since they were kids, if at all. This floating museum is a living, breathing warship – and is still in service and crewed by sailors, each of whom is happy to share the history of this iconic vessel. The USS Constitution, moreover, is not the only ship in the Navy Yard. The World War II destroyer USS Cassin is docked there as well, and it too is open to visitors. The ship fought in the Pacific and survived not only attacks by Japanese suicide kamikaze planes – but also a menu (which is still posted) that would pack on the pounds and clog the arteries of any sailor.

Contrary to popular belief, a lot of dads enjoy museums – especially ones with really cool, freaky stuff like dinosaur skeletons, shrunken heads, bizarre stone carvings of angry ancient gods and other weird stuff. And swords, don’t forget the swords. And the armor, and all of the other weapons and artifacts of wars around the world and across time. The Harvard Museum of Natural History has all of that and much, much more. This is no stuffy collection of dusty artifacts, but a vibrant, exciting and just downright cool place full of stuff that guys of any age really like.

Many dads enjoy a good beer – and for a really good beer, the Cambridge Brewing Company is one of the best local breweries to take dad to on Father’s Day. Whether it is for a mid-day refresher, lunch or an early dinner, this place not only has its own wonderful and always changing list of beers on tap, but also serves great burgers and other pub food. The brewery is especially well-known for its malty, red Cambridge Amber and the rich, toffee tasting full-bodied Charles River Porter – which is a dad’s beer if there ever was one.